The Little Moments
by KatTheGracefulKlutz
Summary: He didn't LIKE her, they were just friends. But then why did he keep finding his thoughts drifting back to her?/OR/Peter doesn't like MJ. Ned says that's not true. It's a little hard to think while someone is aiming a gun at you./Two-shot/Rated T for character death/set in MCU/They didn't have Michelle or Ned on the character list, but they're in here, don't worry.
1. Chapter 1

***Clears throat*  
**

 **Welcome, dear reader! Yes, I mean _you_! However you've managed to stumble across this little gem, you should keep reading, because I've been told it's really good XD**

 **Anyway, this was written for Brentinator's secret santa, and this is a gift for... Orang3Juic3! (The exclamation point is not in the username XD) Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it, cause it took me forever to come up with this XD**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own marvel, Peter Parker, MJ, Ned, or any other characters mentioned.**

 **Warning: major character death**

 **This is a two-shot (if you don't know, that means the entire story is two chapters long)**

* * *

Sometimes you just can't help but recall all those little moments that have shaped you over the years. Every person you meet, every word you speak, they all have the possibility of being the turning point in your life. And sometimes, some days, you just reflect on yourself. There doesn't _have_ to be a reason, there are some days that you just _do_. Far more often, however, you remember things like this for a reason. And usually, that reason is going to be another turning point in your life.

This particular reason was one of the unexpected variety, which, most are. And it all started on what was supposed to be any other ordinary day.

Peter sat in class, bored out of his mind as the teacher droned on. On either side of him were his two best friends, Ned and MJ. Ned was totally set on the fact that Peter 'liked' MJ, but the superhero was positive that he didn't. MJ was just a girl, a girl that he was friends with. She was a great person to be around (most of the time), and she was nice enough (ish), but those weren't exactly reasons enough to like her (or, as Ned had put it, 'love').

After MJ had been declared captain of the Decathlon team, she became considerably more social. She hung out with the boys more often, and other people too, while gradually becoming nicer. Just because they hung out a lot didn't mean that Peter liked her, though! If only Ned would understand that…

Come to think of it, it wasn't just Ned that was always saying how Peter and MJ liked each other. Several of their friends had made little comments or jokes at one point or another. Geez, some people were _so_ immature. They were fifteen for crying out loud, they should at least know to stop acting like middle schoolers!

"Alright, that's all we've got of that for now. You guys can work on your homework for the remaining few minutes of class, feel free to get help from a friend, as long as they don't distract you." the teacher said, and almost immediately, nearly everybody in the class broke out into a loud chatter.

Peter looked at the sheet of homework, writing his name at the top. "Hey, what'd you guys get for number four?" MJ asked, looking at the boys expectantly.

"We _just_ started, how are you on question four already?" Ned asked, bewildered. He glanced at the paper in front of him, making sure it really was that long (double sided, complete with the hard stuff that everybody ends up googling).

"I worked while she talked." the Decathlon captain shrugged, beginning to doodle in the corner of the worksheet. "Just let me know when you're done with number four, kay?"

Peter nodded, beginning to work the first problem while his mind wandered. He didn't _like_ MJ, but he liked her as a _friend_. That was all he felt… yeah, for sure. Ned was probably just trying to be funny.

"Did you get ninety eight point twelve for number one?" the 'Guy in the Chair' questioned as he looked at the backside of the paper with a frown.

"Uhh…" Peter wrote something more on his paper, then nodded. "Yeah."

"So, how's the Stark internship going?"

The superhero looked at the girl next to him, and let a small grin slip as he thought about his recent activities at the Avengers compound. His mentor had been working with him a lot, and it had been _so_ awesome. The more time he spent with the billionaire, the more comfortable he felt there (although, it seemed to do the same and the opposite for Tony at the same time. While he was showing a lot more mentor-iness and stuff towards Peter, he also made the teen take more precautions when he went out as Spider-Man, and installed a _panic button_ on his phone (and, technically, his watch as well). According to the older, "Things happen that you won't be prepared for, and you might need help one day."

"Oh, yeah, it's uh… it's going good." he nodded, trying to keep from saying too much. Neither him or Ned were sure if the other knew about Peter being Spider-Man, but they were sixty five percent sure that she did. But just to be safe, they waited for her to say something first.

"Just good? No 'I got to go work for Iron Man, and even though I've been doing this for like a year now, I still geeked out way too much and everyone thought I was crazy!'?" MJ joked, smiling to herself as she looked away to continue on the homework.

"Yeah, none of that." Peter laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. "If you ask me, it's everyone _else_ that's crazy, and I'm the only normal one."

His friends laughed, and Ned nodded. "Sure, buddy…"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Peter cried in mock offense. The trio laughed, and then the bell rang, dismissing them from class.

"Everyone have a great weekend!" the teacher yelled as students filed out of the classroom in a loud blob.

"See you at lunch, guys," Peter said, joining the blob on his way out of the classroom. He journeyed through the people traffic on his way to his next class, yawning loudly. God, he was _so_ tired. He had gotten practically no sleep all week, and oh, how he wished he could just lay down and nap all day.

The teen stumbled into his next class, blinking his tiredness away. He plopped into his seat, and immediately began on the classwork (a worksheet that was on the front table). While he worked, his mind once again began to wander, and to his surprise, he found himself thinking about MJ (yeah, again).

MJ was a good friend, it wasn't like he felt anything different when he was with her. She was just funny, and smart, and just a little bit pretty. But just a little bit! Not like, a lot pretty. Anyway, the point was, he felt nothing for her other than friendliness.

 _But then why did he constantly find his thoughts wandering back to her_?

During lunch, the trio sat together and discussed (what else?), Spider-Man. MJ was the one who brought it up, and Peter couldn't think of a good way to weasel his way out of the conversation without being suspicious.

"Did you guys see that new footage of Spider-Man yesterday?" the brown-haired-beauty asked, her eyes flitting across the back side of her newest book.

"Oh yeah, it was _awesome_!" Ned grinned, "Pete—" the _secretive_ superhero snapped his head around, giving his best friend a look to _shut up_ , and the 'Guy in the Chair' quickly changed the course of his reply. " —r, wasn't it cool?"

"Oh, yeah, it was great!" Peter agreed, silently thankful that his best friend had been so quick-thinking. If he had hesitated (there had only been a second's beat between what he was going to say and what he did), MJ would have certainly gotten suspicious. Not that they didn't trust her or anything, but Peter just couldn't risk telling anyone else.

"Kind of sloppy, but yeah, cool I guess." MJ nodded, putting the paperback down. "Ew, mashed potatoes from this place are the worst…"

"Totally agree, they taste like mud and bark had a child." Ned gave a disgusted shudder, pushing the white substance to the side of his lunch tray with a plastic fork.

"And they're so _clumpy_ ," Peter added, sniffing his potatoes suspiciously. "Yeah, I've lost my appetite…"

"Ditto."

"Me too."

His friends agreed in unison, pushing their trays away. Anyone who willingly ate cafeteria food without being nauseous was considered to have a fully numbed sense of taste, anyway. So, it wasn't like they were missing out on some crazy awesome edible delights or anything.

Peter was just about to speak again when the doors that led to the courtyard slammed open, and the room silenced. Several menacing men stormed in, each with guns. "So," said the one that looked like the leader, "I've heard someone at this school knows Spider-Man's identity."

* * *

 **Idea partially from the first episode of Ultimate Spider-Man, which, no, I do not watch, I just saw the first episode on TV once XD (I think it was the first episode...)**

 **Until next time, Kat signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh, look, the second and final chapter of this depressing little two-shot :D**

 **Wait, wait, no, don't go! I was just kidding when I said it was depressing! Come baaaaack!  
**

 **Oh, great, you're back! Hiii! XD  
**

 **Now, I'd like to take a quick second to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and especially reviewed!  
**

 **Alright, now I'm gonna shut up XD**

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Everyone looked around, totally confused. Nobody knew that Spider-Man attended their school, let alone that it was _Peter ****ing Parker_. "So here's how it's gonna work," the man continued in his deep, gruff voice. "I get an answer, _now_ , and nobody gets hurt." The room stayed absolutely silent, no one daring to even breathe.

Peter was having an inner panic attack. Oh God, oh God oh _God_. He was too far from the door to sneak out and change into Spider-Man, and he sure as heck couldn't reveal himself, that's exactly what these men wanted! But if he didn't, then his classmates, his _friends_ might get hurt. He couldn't let that happen either. He glanced at Ned for help, but his best friend looked too panicked to be able to think straight.

MJ looked around, frowning. "I think it's kind of obvious that no one knows who Spider-Man is," she stated loudly, and in less than a second all eyes were on her. "Sooo… hate to break it to you, but we can't help you in your little search. Valiant effort, though."

One of the men raised his gun towards her, and a flash of panic ran though Peter. No, no, no, _no_. The leader guy signalled for him to lower the gun, and the superhero released a small sigh of relief. Thank _God_.

"You've got _one minute_ before we open fire!" the man roared, and that was when the students began to panic even more. Small whimpers, gasps, and a few girls started crying. Everyone had similar expressions, though — looks of horror and fear spread across their faces.

The panic and fear rose in Peter's throat, and he nearly found himself throwing up. Luckily, he swallowed it back, taking a deep breath. He couldn't reveal himself, but he couldn't _not help_. What could he _do_? The situation looked horribly hopeless.

He noticed, after a second, that Ned was looking at him, and once he made eye contact, the 'Guy in the Chair' gestured with his eyes at Peter's watch. It took Peter a minute to realize what his best friend was trying to tell him, but once again found himself worried about the decision. Pressing the panic button would get them help, and probably pretty dang fast, but wouldn't everyone wonder about how on earth _Iron Man just happened to show up to save the day_?

Ned gave him a pleading look, _begging_ him to press it. The situation was hopeless, it was the only thing he could do. With a deep, silent breath, Peter pressed the button.

" _THIRTY SECONDS_!"

The only problem was, there was no way that _anyone_ would get there fast enough before all hell was brought down on the cafeteria full of students. There had to be something, _anything_ that Peter could do. Why wasn't his brain _working_? He saved people all the time, he should know what to do! Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!

His heart was racing, he still felt like he was going to throw up, his head was pounding, and he couldn't remember the last time that he had felt so _utterly hopeless_. It was useless, he thought, there was nothing he could do. Innocent people were going to be injured, maybe even killed, because he was an idiot and couldn't figure out a way to save them.

While Ned was taking deep breaths to calm himself, MJ simply looked _pissed_. Calm, but still pissed. _Please_ , Peter thought, wishing not for the first time that he had telepathic abilities instead of spider themed ones, _just don't do anything stupid_ …

" _FIFTEEN SECONDS_!" the man yelled, and by now you could tell that he was losing his patience.

Peter felt like he was going to cry. Bad things were about to happen, and it was all his fault. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. There was nothing he could do, oh God, there was nothing he could do…

" _FIVE SECONDS_!"

Trembling, the spider themed superhero counted the seconds in his head, and just as it got one, MJ shot out of her seat. "I KNOW WHO HE IS!" she yelled, right as the men started to raise their guns. The leader gestured for them to lower the weapons, and nodded for her to continue. "He's my neighbor, lives alone," she began, her voice steady and convincing. If Peter didn't know any better, he would have thought she was telling the truth.

" _And_?"

"I — I don't know his last name, but his first name is Johnathon," she continued, clearing her throat, "he has blond hair. I've seen him crawling up the walls in his backyard, and shooting webs."

"And where can we _find_ this, Johnathon?" he asked, crossing his arms in disbelief at the teen. Peter knew that she wouldn't be able to keep the lie up for long, and he needed to do _something_ to stop anything else from happening. But what could he do? He was far too close to the middle of the room to sneak out, and getting caught would result in horrible consequences.

"He's — he's out of town…" her voice faltered, and Peter cringed, it didn't sound true, not at all. Besides, he had been out Spider-Manning that morning, and the previous night, so it couldn't have been true.

"Why _thank you,_ my dear, for that _wonderful_ information…" he said, his voice sickeningly sweet, and every ugly wrinkle on his face said that he didn't believe her. An ever so small smirk made itself present on his face. Peter realized what was going to happen too late. The man signalled, and in a split second, a deafening shot was fired.

No… no… _no_ … he could barely hear the screams from several students, the instant panic that was finally let through its dam, like an overflowing river. Screams, shouts, shrieks, and more came from every direction, but for some reason they scarcely reached his ears. The bullet was moving so _slowly_. Why was it moving so slowly? Why was _everything taking so long_? All he could do was _watch_ as it pierced through her skin, her body jerking back, and next thing he knew everything sped up, but he still couldn't move, too frozen with terror; she was thrown back onto the floor, like some sort of rag doll.

All around him, chaos ensued, but he didn't even notice. All he knew was that _somehow_ he found himself on the floor, MJ in his arms, and tears streaming down his face. "M-MJ…" he whispered, his mind not processing anything that was happening quite right. Blood had already began to pool on the floor, but despite this, she gave him a half, weak smile.

"Hey…"

"MJ, it's—it's gonna be alright, y-you're gonna be okay," he choked, feelings and thoughts and _pain_ coursing through him.

"Th-there was a reason they chose me for Decathlon c-captain, it's cause I'm smart enough to know things like this… th-that I'm not…"

"MJ _please_ … y-you can't leave me…" he begged, his vision blurred by the rush of tears that wouldn't stop streaming down his face. And then he _knew_. Every interaction, every experience, every time they had seen each other, they all flashed through his head. Every single little moment he had ever shared with her, they all helped to shape his feelings today. He realized that Ned hadn't been joking; _nobody_ had been joking, they were all just waiting for him to realize it himself, he had been to worried on what might happen that he convinced himself otherwise… "I-I love you…"

"Took long enough for you to realize it, loser…"

"MJ, MJ you're going to be okay, I won't let anything happen to you, it's all going to be okay, I promise, I prom-"

She silenced him, putting her finger to his lips. "P-peter… don't make promises you can't… can't keep…"

"B-but I _will_ , I won't let anything happen, I won't…" God, he wanted to stay strong, he wanted to stay strong so badly, but he couldn't contain his whimper.

"I love you too… s-stay out of trouble wi-without me, yeah?"

"MJ, don't… don't say that… I… I'll find a way to help you…"

"P-promise me you won't stop… th-the world _needs_ Spider-M—man…" she whispered to him. He looked into her eyes, those _begging_ , _pleading_ hazel eyes… and all he could do was give a small nod, not trusting his voice.

She reached up, softly placing her hand on the back of his neck. His brain went fuzzy as she pulled him down tenderly, and before he knew anything that was happening their lips met, and _God_ it was unlike anything he had ever felt. Sparks exploded, if that's what you would call it, his heart was racing a thousand beats a minute, and suddenly, just like that, it was over, and God no it couldn't be over, but… it was.

She gave him a weak smile, her body shuddering with her final breath, her eyes fluttering shut, and just like that she was gone. No, _no_ she couldn't be gone, she just _couldn't_ , and God no this was a nightmare, _please_ let this be a nightmare…

The tears came faster, he couldn't see anything, his vision was too blurred. His breathing was uneven, too quick, and he wondered for a split second if he was hyperventilating, but he didn't care, he just needed MJ back, she needed to be _okay_ …

Everything faded around him, he couldn't hear the screaming anymore, all he could see was the girl he loved, not breathing, while he was breathing far too fast.

All he knew was that somehow he found himself on the floor, MJ in his arms, tears streaming down his face.)

 **THE END**

* * *

 **I remembered after I spent a _lot_ of time on this that orang3juic3 preferred _happy_ endings... ha... oops.**

 **Well, I really hope you like it anyway! For like, the first time ever, I'm really proud of something I've written! XD  
**

 **How do you guys feel about a possible sequel? You know, about the super sad aftermath and more depressing things...**

 ***removes hat, puts to heart* RIP Michelle Jones, she will be missed by many...**

 **Alright, I'm bad at funerals, so that's all of *that* XD**

 **Anyway, please review, it makes me happy :)  
**

 **(If you enjoyed this, go check out more works by yours truly! 'Fan favorites' include "Well Now You Know" - A Spider-Man fanfic XD I know, I know, self promo is weird, so I'm gonna stop now XD)**

 **Until next time, Kat signing off (for the last time on this sad little two-shot).**


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